Going Aloft on the Hard

[Joe500]

Is it safe to go up the mast when the boat is out of the water? I see different opinions on the web on this topic. Do you exert a lot more torque if you're swinging around at the top of the mast rather than walking around on deck, so much so that the boat could fall over?

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by Joe500

Is it safe to go up the mast when the boat is out of the water? I see different opinions on the web on this topic. Do you exert a lot more torque if you're swinging around at the top of the mast rather than walking around on deck, so much so that the boat could fall over?

And yes, that is the idea. Whether your boat is unstable is not a factor.

[Pblais]

Is it safe to go up the mast when the boat is out of the water?

Not when you consider in the water is safer. The sure win has the confidence.

[Chief Engineer]

That's just plain nvts to do that.......I don't trust any boat that is on Jackstands......

If you have ever been inside when the wind is up and the mast is "pumping" you know what I mean.

I would rather have to deal with the occasional wake....than be up on a "stick" with terra firma rapidly approaching.

[White Feather]

Stay off the stick on the hard or you will be laying on the ground saying, "Dang, That's gonna leave a dent!"....

[delmarrey]

I guess that all depends on the boat and how it's set up. I've been up my mast many times on the hard BUT I wouldn't endorse it if one is no sure of what they're doing. Normally a sailboat sets on its keel with the stands as side supports. In a yard 4 stands are usually enough but all winter long I use 8 stands.

If a boats on the hard for a season it has to stand up to high winds and possible earthquakes. I would not leave my boat on the hard for long if not set up to take a breeze or shaking.

We get 50-60 MPH winds thru here during the average winter and I've been inside during some of those and the boat shakes like hell. Sometime the mast will even pump a little. But I check the stands afterwords and it's usually unaffected.



.

[MarkJ]

Up the mast at the best of times my knees wobble, my hands shake, and my collywobbles rattle.... all together they're sure to bring the whole thing down....

[Roaring Girl]

I've been up the mast on the hard before, not least because it was already paid for on the hard and another 40EU per day in the water, with a lot of work to do up there.

The boat had been on stands for 8 months, including surviving winter mistrals so I knew the stands were solid, despite the shakes when the wind blew. Picked a nice quiet day, breathed and walked around a lot and then got up there. No problem at all and absolutely fantastic views (you're that bit higher). Spent quite a lot of time up there and took pictures as well - see The mouth of the mighty Rhone | Roaring Girl for the mouth of the Rhone.

S - check your stands, pick your weather and get climbing.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Up the mast at the best of times my knees wobble, my hands shake, and my collywobbles rattle.... all together they're sure to bring the whole thing down....

Me too, but I do have one advantage to stop her falling over

Pete

[Blue Stocking]

I think a lot depends on how comfortable you are with heights. I have been to mainmasthead on a 110ft schooner on the railway. But in my Fire Dept career, I also worked as head-man on ladder trucks up to 144ft.
IMHO, if you fall from masthead its very unlikely you will clear the deck anyway. Getting pinned between the intermediates and the speader ends on the way down was my greatest worry.

[SoonerSailor]

Use your halyards and extra line to guy your boat port and starboard. I think that should improve the confidence factor a bit.

[sandy daugherty]

To Hire: very short person with three hands; mechanically inclined; no fear of heights a plus.

[Canibul]

I am SO biting my tongue on this thread title....

[White Feather]

Nope, I'm staying on the ground! I'm 230 pounds and when the wind gusts and 230 pounds pushes on the mast with a 60 foot leverage I recall the old days of physics lab. Action, reaction, levers and moving large objects with 230 pounds on a long pole. Nope! I stays on the ground when the boat is balanced on the keel. Never did trust old jackstands, not even in good conditions. Call me "Chicken of the Sea" if you want but I don't bounce as well as I did in my 20's. At 65 I tend to break things when I fall. And I'm not talking about things on the ground. Me is what breaks. I stopped breaking horses for that very reason. It gets harder to get up every time I hit the ground. Solution! Quit trying to hurt yourself by falling from great hights.

[Canibul]

Ah, I understand. I am 59, and 220 lbs. The difference is that I cannot envision myself in anything other than a multihul.